Problem Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Use in Europe
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PROBLEM AMPHETAMINE AND METHAMPHETAMINE METHAMPHETAMINE AND AMPHETAMINE PROBLEM SELECTED USE IN EUROPE IN USE ISSUE 2010 1830-7957 ISSN PROBLEM AMPHETAMINE AND METHAMPHETAMINE METHAMPHETAMINE AND AMPHETAMINE PROBLEM SELECTED USE IN EUROPE IN USE ISSUE 2010 Legal notice This publication of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is protected by copyright. The EMCDDA accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of the data contained in this document. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the EMCDDA’s partners, the EU Member States or any institution or agency of the European Union. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu). Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. This publication is available in English. Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2010 ISBN 978-92-9168-450-2 doi: 10.2810/38745 © European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2010 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Cais do Sodré, 1249-289 Lisbon, Portugal Tel. +351 211210200 • Fax +351 218131711 [email protected] • www.emcdda.europa.eu Contents Introductory note and acknowledgements 5 Introduction 7 Part 1: Overview of amphetamines use in Europe 9 Historical background 9 Legislation 9 Supply: production and trafficking 10 Use of amphetamines in the general population 14 Use of amphetamines in recreational settings 15 Health consequences of amphetamines use 16 Part 2: Problem amphetamines use in Europe 21 Western and southern Europe 21 Northern Europe 24 Eastern and central Europe 26 Czech Republic and Slovakia 28 Conclusions 32 References 33 3 Introductory note and acknowledgements In-depth reviews of topical interest are published as Selected issues each year. These reports are based on information provided to the EMCDDA by the EU Member States and candidate countries and Norway (participating in the work of the EMCDDA since 2001) as part of the national reporting process. The most recent Selected issues are: • Trends in injecting drug use in Europe; • Drug offences: sentencing and other outcomes; • Polydrug use: patterns and responses. All Selected issues (in English) and summaries (in up to 23 languages) are available on the EMCDDA website: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/selected-issues The EMCDDA would like to thank the following for their help in producing this Selected issue: • the heads of Reitox national focal points and their staff; • the services within each Member State that collected the raw data; • the members of the Management Board and the Scientific Committee of the EMCDDA; • the Publications Office of the European Union. Reitox national focal points Reitox is the European information network on drugs and drug addiction. The network is comprised of national focal points in the EU Member States, Norway, the candidate countries and at the European Commission. Under the responsibility of their governments, the focal points are the national authorities providing drug information to the EMCDDA. The contact details of the national focal points may be found at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/index.cfm?nnodeid=403 5 Problem amphetamine and methamphetamine use in Europe Introduction amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, piperazines or new stimulant drugs such as mephedrone. Finally, Europe is an Amphetamine and methamphetamine are two closely important producer of amphetamines with several countries related synthetic substances that act as stimulants of the reporting illicit production facilities on their territory. central nervous system. They can be ingested, snorted or injected, and methamphetamine, particularly in its crystalline The provision of care for those with amphetamines problems form, can be smoked. The two substances can be so similar is another area in which differences exist between countries. in their effects and appearance that often the user cannot In general, treatment services are more attuned to the needs tell them apart. Their effects include elevated mood; a sense of amphetamines users in the countries where problematic of well-being; increased energy, wakefulness, concentration, use of these substances is longer established, while alertness, and motor and speech activities; improved elsewhere services are targeted to the needs of the largest performance in physical and mental tasks; and reduced group of problem drug users (2), mostly opioid users. fatigue. Among other effects viewed by users as positive and rewarding are decreased social or sexual inhibitions, Organised in two parts, this Selected issue aims to provide and the desire to lengthen social interactions or to socialise a comprehensive overview of the history, health effects, with others using the drug. This broad range of effects might supply and use of amphetamines in Europe, as well as explain why the use of amphetamines has been reported describing their problematic use and the responses to them among many different population groups including soldiers, in the European countries that are most heavily affected. The workers (e.g. truck or taxi drivers, hospital staff), students, first part begins with a short history of the use of these drugs sex workers, clubbers or problem heroin users. and a presentation of the laws that are used to control them. This is followed by an analysis of drug supply information, Of the main illicit drugs, the patterns and geography of mainly from police and customs services. The next section amphetamines (1) use in Europe are among the most difficult gives an overview of the prevalence of amphetamines use in to describe. There are several reasons for this. First, the the Europe population. The last section of Part I covers the prevalence of amphetamines use varies greatly between mental and physical health effects of amphetamines use, countries. The diversity of user groups is possibly one of the including a review of the information on infectious diseases largest of all illicit substances found in Europe. In addition, a and deaths related to these drugs. In Part 2, countries are small number of countries have problem amphetamines use grouped in four geographical regions and sub-regions at the heart of their drug problem and, when this is the case, according to their amphetamines problems, with particular it has very specific socio-historical and epidemiological attention given to those with significant levels of problem characteristics. The stimulant market in Europe also appears amphetamines use. Treatment responses to amphetamines to be changing frequently, particularly in nightlife settings, problems are also described for the different countries or with shifts in popularity between substances such as groups of countries. (1) Here, amphetamine and methamphetamine are referred to collectively as amphetamines. (2) Problem drug use is defined as ‘injecting drug use or long-duration/regular use of opioids, cocaine and/or amphetamines’; for more information see the EMCDDA website. 7 EMCDDA 2010 Selected issue Data and focus of this report Countries providing additional data This Selected issue is based on data routinely collected by the Countries not providing additional EMCDDA, reports in the scientific literature as well as a special data, but with evidence of problem data collection in 14 countries in which amphetamines use is amphetamines use particularly relevant in the national drug situation (1). Therefore, some of the information presented in this report covers the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the candidate countries Croatia and Turkey, while other sections focus on all or some of the 14 countries that reported data for this Selected issue. Much of the information on which this Selected issue is based is published in the national languages of the reporting countries, and has been reported to the EMCDDA as part of the 2009 National reports provided by each country. In general, these sources are not explicitly referred to in the text of this publication, but the reader can refer to the Reitox National reports, available online on the EMCDDA website, for a full list of sources. (1) Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Croatia, Norway. 8 Part 1: Overview of amphetamines use in Europe Historical background low. Toward the close of that decade, countries in the north of Europe experienced another wave of amphetamines use, Amphetamine was first synthesised in Germany in 1887, with problem amphetamines users outnumbering problem methamphetamine powder in 1893 and crystal opioid users. Indications of amphetamines use appeared in methamphetamine in 1918/19 in Japan. Widespread the Baltic States and Poland only in the 1990s, since when it medicinal use of the drugs in Europe appears to date from has increased. In much of southern Europe, amphetamines the 1930s, with the introduction of benzedrine have never been among the most prevalent drugs. Current (amphetamine) and pervitin (methamphetamine) as over-the- patterns of supply and demand in Europe reflect